A new type of "sunrise" dawned above Earth on Nov. 20, 1998, with the launch of the first piece of the International Space Station.

Fifteen years ago Wednesday (Nov. 20), the Russian-built Zarya, or "Sunrise," module, also known as the functional cargo block (FGB), lifted off atop a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin the most complex scientific and engineering project in history...